" But
practically, except in the official almanac, everybody addresses a
prelate as "my lord," and in the clergy, among believers, in writing
or in speaking to him, he is called "your Grace," under the republic
as under the monarchy.
Thus, in this provincial soil where other powers have lost their
roots, not only has he kept his, but he has extended them and much
farther; he has grown beyond all measure and now the whole
ecclesiastical territory belongs to him. Formerly, on this territory,
many portions of it, and quite large ones, were enclosures set apart,
reserves that an immemorial wall prevented him from entering. It was
not he who, in a great majority of cases, conferred livings and
offices; it was not he who, in more than one-half of them, appointed
to vacant curacies. At Besan?on,[25] among 1500 benefices and
livings, he once conferred less than 100 of them, while his
metropolitan chapter appointed as many cur?s as himself; at Arras, he
appointed only 47 cur?s and his chapter 66; at Saint-Omer, among the
collators of curacies he ranked only third, after the abbey of Saint-
Martin and after the chapter of the cathedral.
Pages:
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143